Migration News -
October 1999

Sapa-IPS (Cotonou 28-10) reports that a new
refugee camp has been built in Kpomasse, near the
Beninois capital Cotonou. It has an ideal capacity of
1200 people, but can accommodate up to 5000 if tents are
used. It was built on 11 hectares donated by the Beninois
government and cost 903 million CFA francs, largely
financed by the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR). The Beninois Water and Electricity
company (SBEE) donated the installation of water,
electricity and other utility lines worth 212,310 CFA
francs and the Beninois-Belgian Development Fund donated
95,189 million CFA francs to the project (600 CFA francs
equals one US dollar). In addition to housing, the centre
includes vocational training facilities, a 3-classroom
elementary school, administrative offices, two
generators, a dispensary and health centre, a complete
computer set-up connected to the internet, and a
recreational room. Currently, about 730 Congolese, 200
Nigerian, and 100 Togolese refugees live at the centre.
Other refugees also living there are Burundian, Rwandan,
Sudanese, Omani.

Sapa (National Assembly 28-10) reports that since
April 1994, the Department of Home Affairs has earned
more than R77 million by charging foreigners for entry
documents, according to Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu
Buthelezi. These fees were paid into the
departments account, which were in turn paid
monthly into state coffers.

Sapa (Johannesburg 28-10) reports that the number
of Angolan refugees entering Zambia over the past few
weeks has increased dramatically, according to the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Due to
renewed warfare between Unita and the Angolan army in
Moxico province, 200 refugees cross from Angola into
Zambia every month. Since early October, a total of 650
new arrivals were registered in the North Western
province.

East Cape News (Bisho 27-10) reports that the
Eastern Cape Home Affairs Department has called on
government, business and members of the public to submit
suggestions for the draft White Paper on International
Migration by 30 November. According to Eastern Cape Home
Affairs regional director Lutando Myataza, the White
Paper could affect the way the government deals with
"illegal aliens": it will eventually result in
a policy that governs migration and legislation that may
revise the Aliens Control Act of 1991. Myataza said that
while South Africa needed to ensure economic growth and
development through foreign investment, the current
Aliens Control Act deterred interested investors. The
Health Department is also hampered by the current act
since it depends upon foreign doctors to staff the health
system in rural areas. If doctors fail to renew their
work permits, they need to leave the country in order to
reapply. Also to be affected by new legislation would be
the areas of the Eastern Cape, including the towns
surrounding the borders of Lesotho, which have "a
problem with the control of aliens".

Sapa-AFP (Lusaka 27-10) reports that since October
8th, about 850 Angolans have fled to Zambia to
escape fighting between the Angolan army and UNITA
forces. Before the fighting intensified, Angolan refugees
entered Zambia at a rate of about 100 per month. Zambia
has been hosting Angolan refugees for about 30 years:
about 32,000 are accommodated at two refugee settlements,
while another 120,000 have settled informally along the
border area.

SAPA (26-10) reports that MPs and heads of foreign
missions abroad often interfere with decisions that are,
and should be, made by the Department of Home Affairs.
Acting Home Affairs director-general, Dr. Khulu Mbatha,
addressed members of the parliamentary portfolio
committee on Home Affairs, stating that his department
often received requests (36 in 1999) from MPs via the
Minister or Deputy Minister to make exceptions in terms
of the Aliens Control Act to allow certain foreigners
some form of residential status. The Home Affairs
Department then gave priority to those cases, forcing
those who had applied in time to wait. Also, heads of
foreign missions abroad sometimes insisted on making
decisions that ought to have been the responsibility of
the Home Affairs Department, creating more work for the
already over-worked and under-staffed department. Another
problem, according to Mbatha, was created when
"illegal foreigners" approached the South
African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) or the Public
Protector to query decisions on their behalf, or
approached the courts to overturn those decisions.
Because of this, the departments litigation budget
was exhausted within the first two months of the year.
Mbatha made several suggestions to alleviate these
problems: separate, special courts to deal with migration
cases; cessation of queries by the SAHRC and the Public
Protector; increase department staff and budget to better
reflect the numbers of immigrants it had to handle; more
officials in consular offices abroad; and increased
security at department offices (to prevent the theft of
office equipment as well as stamps and permits).

Panafrican News Agency (Johannesburg 26-10)
reports that the Samora Machel Association, an NGO
created in 1998 by Mozambicans living in South Africa,
will intervene "fully and decisively" in all
issues concerning "illegal immigrants" to
ensure that they are protected from police abuses.
According to the associations head, Tomas Campira,
the NGO will identify and report cases of police abuse of
power particularly in the Lindela deportation camp.

Sapa (Parliament 26-10) reports that the Home
Affairs Department is considering handcuffing
"illegal immigrants" to a light chain while
being deported by train to prevent escapes and deaths.
According to the acting Home Affairs Director-General,
also being considered is the conversion of some train
coaches to dedicated "repatriation vehicles".
The South African Human Rights Commission is
"looking at the viability" of these options.
The department deports 147,000 Mozambicans and 86,000
Zimbabweans per year.

Sapa (Lusaka 26-10) reports that more than 496
Angolan refugees have entered Zambia over the past four
days, allegedly fleeing conscription into the UNITA rebel
army. UNHCR information officer in Lusaka, Dominik
Bartsch, said the refugees were being screened by Zambian
security and would eventually be transferred to Maheba
refugee camp near Solwezi. Zambia hosts 100,000 refugees
from its six neighbours, mostly from Angola.

Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg 25-10) reports
that a government sponsored initiative, the South African
Network of Skills Abroad (SANSA), aims to reverse the
"brain drain" and make it a "brain
gain" by contacting skilled South Africans who have
migrated and getting them in touch with South African
communities that could benefit from their skills. SANSA
has sent out letters to 28,000 South Africans living
abroad and 1800, living in 67 different countries, have
already responded positively and joined the network.
While Statistics South Africa estimates that 82,811
people emigrated from South Africa between 1989 and 1997,
SANSAs initial research indicates that the number
is closer to 233,609 and that many of them are skilled.
The programme is based at the Science and Technology
Policy Research Centre at the University of Cape Town,
but it is a country-wide initiative and would appreciate
any publicity or advice that would allow it to make
contact with more skilled South Africans abroad.

Sapa-DPA (Lusaka 19/10) reports that about 1,250
Angolan refugees have arrived in Zambia over the past two
weeks after central highlands fighting between government
and UNITA forces, and more are expected. Permanent
secretary Maybin Muganga of Zambias Northwestern
Province appealed to the office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Lusaka to
"take stock of the new arrivals and provide basic
human needs." A UNHCR spokesperson replied that
while they were aware of the new influx of refugees,
normal screening had to be followed in collaboration with
the Zambian authorities to ascertain the refugees
authenticity. Zambia already has more than 144,000
Angolan refugees throughout its northwestern and western
provinces which share a border with Angola.

Sapa (Parliament 19/10) reports that
Parliaments standing committee on labour heard a
report from labour department director Fatima Bhyat
detailing a long list of complaints from farm workers.
The department received 4,336 complaints between January
and September of this year. Bhyat reported that almost
three-quarters of South Africas farm workers earn
less than the poverty-line wage of R650 per month.
Moreover, black workers only earned 7.5% of white workers
(including farmers). Many of the farm workers are
"illegal immigrants", preferred by employers
because "they would settle for poor wages."
Most complaints related to farmers ignoring the Basic
Conditions of Employment Act. Among the complaints
detailed were incidences of: the use of child labour;
refusing workers leave; summarily evicting them from
farms once their service was over; exposing workers to
herbicides and pesticides; verbal and physical abuse;
accommodations and sanitary facilities that are
inadequate and unhygenic; preventing, by means of
intimidation and violence, farm workers from joining
unions; reporting "illegal immigrants" to
police to avoid paying them; failure to register
employees in terms of the Compensation of Occupational
Injuries and Diseases Act and the Unemployment Insurance
Fund (UIF). Draft legislation addressing these problems
is expected to be ready by April 2000.

Sapa (Parliament 19/10) reports that the Health
Professions Council will lift a moratorium on
registration of foreign doctors in April 2000, of the
department of health has not implemented new regulations
for their registration by then. The moratorium, which
prevents the registration of most non-South African
foreign-trained doctors, was imposed in 1995, pending
publication of the new regulations. While the regulations
are completed, their publication is being postponed until
an on-going court case is resolved. In October of 1998,
the Pretoria High Court agreed to allow 11 doctors,
trained overseas but now South African citizens, to seek
unrestricted registration. Previously, they were
restricted to working in the public health sector. The
council and health department are currently appealing
that decision. No decision has been made by the health
department on how to deal with the impending return, in
2004, of South African students studying medicine in
Cuba. The Inkatha Freedom Partys health
spokesperson Dr.Ruth Rabinowitz said in a statement that
"there were serious inconsistencies in the health
departments policies on foreign qualified doctors
and the training of South African students in foreign
countries."

Sapa (Cape Town 19/10) reports that Democratic
Party leader Tony Leon called on matric pupils to remain
in South Africa and to make it a better place to live.
"So many intelligent young people are leaving South
Africa to pursue opportunities abroad. I hope that this
trend will not continue because it is one which we, as a
nation, can ill afford," Leon said.

SAPA (Windhoek 14/10) reports that International
Labour Organization (ILO) sponsored a meeting in Namibia
on Thursday to develop a blueprint to provide guidance to
the ILO in the development of programmes and initiatives
to address AIDS/HIV. Among the many problems discussed,
it was pointed out that the epidemic particularly
affected the health and safety of certain groups of
workers, one of those groups being migrant workers.

SAPA-IPS (Lusaka 13/10) reports that renewed
fighting in Angola is forcing refugees into Zambia.
According to Dominik Bartsch, a United Nations High
Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson, about 100
refugees per week enter Zambia from Angola. While the
influx appears manageable, said Bartsch, the UNHCR is
preparing itself to receive more refugees as the war in
Angola escalates. Zambia currently hosts over 150,000
refugees, mostly from Angola and the Democratic Republic
of Congo, but also from Burundi, Rwanda, and Somalia.

SAPA (Parliament 13/10) reports that 10,972
applications for and 11,063 renewals of work permits in
South Africa were approved last year. 2, 452 applications
for work permits were rejected over the same time period.

SAPA (Parliament 13/10) reports that 6, 433 South
African citizens emigrated last year, while only 4, 371
people immigrated to South Africa. According to Home
Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi, 5,105 of the
emigrants and 1,920 of the immigrants were economically
active. Most emigrants went to the United Kingdom, the
United States, Canada, Germany, Namibia, New Zealand,
Zimbabwe, and Australia. Most immigrants came from the
United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, Germany, Lesotho, Ghana,
Bulgaria, and the Netherlands.

SAPA (Parliament 13/10) reports that South Africa
is to ratify an international convention providing for
free elementary education shortly which stipulates that
countries should give foreign nationals resident in their
territory equal access to education. Moreover, a recent
Constitutional Court decision said that foreign teachers
with permanent residence permits should be able to get
permanent, not just temporary, employment. A Southern
African Development Community protocol provided for
easier access by SADC citizens to higher education
institutions of other member countries.

The Namibian (Windhoek 11/10) reports that the
Immigration Tribunal decided on Friday to deport about
600 "illegal foreigners". Most of those now
facing deportation are Angolan, although some were from
Liberia, Burundi, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique, and
South Africa. Some pleaded with Tribunal Chairman Bro
Mathew Shingwandja to be deported to a country other than
their country of origin, fearing retribution from the
authorities there. Some alleged they had been mistreated
after being detained, but Immigration Officials denied
the claims.

SAPA (Nelspruit 11/10) reports that the
Association of European Parliamentarians (Awepa) is
providing financial support for a six-month project with
the aim of registering former Mozambican refugees for
South African citizenship. The South African Cabinet
agreed in 1996 to grant exemption to about 250,000
Mozambicans who fled from civil war in their country.
Only those who came into South Africa before 1993 qualify
for the project.

SAPA (Durban 11/10) reports that a new Joint Port
Drugs Unit started operations in Durban on Monday to
increase the seizure of illicit drugs making their way
through the port. The units consists of the South African
Narcotics Bureau, the South African Revenue Service, and
customs officials and will profile and target suspected
drug shipments into the port.

Sapa (Johannesburg 07/10) reports African
Christian Democratic Party MP Kent Durr "decried the
exodus of skilled and educated South Africans, who he
said were benefitting other countries in Europe, the
United States and Canada resulting in tax losses running
to billions of rands." Durr made the comments during
an address at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung economic
conference in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Financial Times (London 05/10) reports "South
Africa is suffering a serious brain drain,
and the number of skilled people emigrating from the
country is much higher than shown by official
figures." The statement is based on a report
released by the Cape Town- based Trade and Industry
Monitor. The report says3/4 of South Africas
emigrants went to US, UK, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand between 1989 and 1997, and that while the
official number of emigrants to these countries is 82,
811, the actual number is 233,609. Also, "post 1994,
the annual emigration of professionals was 56% higher
than for 1989-94...between 1/8 and 1/5 of South Africans
with tertiary education live abroad." According to
the report, South Africa has a shortage of skilled
professionals in such sectors as engineering and
medicine. Moreover, immigration of skilled workers to
South Africa has slowed and companies say it can be
difficult to obtain short-term work permits for foreign
technical and managerial staff. While stating that high
rates of professional emigration are likely to continue,
the report added that "the major cost to the country
is in lost production and the export of human capital in
the form of education, training and experience."

Sapa-AFP (Victoria Falls 04/10) reports that at a
conference organized by the Southern African
International Dialogue, delegates identified tourism as a
potential area for economic development and cooperation
and began working on the creation of a task force to
manage cross-border tourism corridors. The task force
will work towards the removal of impediments such as
restricted movement of tourists, visa requirements and
improving flight schedules.

The Progress (Freetown 02/10) reports immigration
chief, Mr. Solomon Ngauoja warned senior officers of the
Amalgamated Artisinal Boat mens Union, AABU
"not to allow foreign nationals to board vessels
entrying the country without authentic traveling
documents." According to The Progress, there
have been persistent reports that "illegal
immigrants" are entering the country on locally made
boats, especially from Guinea. Ngauoja said that
"the country has experienced a massive flow of
illegal immigrants over the last couple of months."